The use of wire shelving has become a viable, low-cost alternative to traditional wood shelving. This wire shelving generally consists of a number of parallel-spaced, transversely-extending, cold drawn steel wires welded to one or more longitudinally extending support wires. The shelving can be provided in a wide variety of lengths, widths and styles, and is typically secured to the adjacent support walls by means of a number of well-known mounting devices or fasteners.
One important consideration in the design of wire shelving is the ease of installation. Since such shelving may often be installed by relatively unskilled homeowners, or by building contractors desiring to cut installation time as much as possible, the mounting devices employed must be relatively simple and quick to install while providing easy alignment and positioning with respect to the wire shelving. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate prior wire shelving wall anchors for use with a hollow wall, wherein each anchor has a single groove for engaging the wire of a shelf and therefore accommodates only a single mounting position In addition, these prior anchors can be tiring to grip repeatedly because of the relatively small gripping area and sharp transitions between surfaces. As such, there exists a desire to provide an improved wall anchor which is more comfortable to grip and engage during the installation process and which provides improved versatility and flexibility with respect to securing a wire shelf to a wall. Particularly, there exists a desire for a single wall anchor suitable for use with either a hollow or solid wall and which can accommodate multiple mounting positions.